SUICIDE FEARS FUELLED POT SALE PLAN, COURT TOLD

Medical marijuana advocate Grant Krieger told a Calgary court Tuesday he
feared chronically ill people who came to him for help would commit suicide
if he didn't provide marijuana to them to ease their pain.

The 47-year-old Calgary man, testifying in his own defence, told his lawyer
Adriano Iovinelli he had gone through a similar situation several years ago
when numerous attempts with pharmaceuticals failed to aid his multiple
sclerosis.

He said he attempted suicide, because no medical intervention or
prescription drugs helped alleviate his crippling illness and he was slowly
becoming wheelchair-bound and bed ridden.

Since being introduced to the illicit drug, his health has dramatically
improved, he noted.

Krieger, who has been fighting in the courts for more than five years to
change the laws to have people allowed to use marijuana for medical
purposes, faces one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking.

He was charged after police came to his home on Bowness Road N.W. on
Aug.25, 1999 to arrest another man on warrants and discovered a grow
operation of 29 marijuana plants and various drug paraphernalia.

Krieger readily admitted he was growing the drug to supply to others in
similar predicaments, for a nominal fee compared to street prices. He
denied it was for commercial gain or for recreational users.

"People who came to me have tried pharmaceuticals and they didn't work.
What's left?" Kreiger told Crown Prosecutor Scott Couper during
cross-examination. "They told me, 'What am I going to do, die?' There were
no other alternatives at that point."

The trail continues today with final arguments before Court of Queen's
Bench Justice Darlene Acton instructs the jury.